Council’s policy on the use of e-cigarettes and vaping

Please supply me with a copy of your council’s policy on the use of e-cigarettes on council premises. This includes all council owned or leased buildings (for example, libraries, offices, museums), council owned or leased property (for example, parks, gardens, and other areas that form part of the grounds of council offices), and vehicles (for example, council owned or leased cars and vans).

The Council’s Smoking at Work Policy can be viewed by clicking on the link provided.

Is staff required to leave their place of work (for example, their desk or vehicle) to vape.

Yes

Do staff and visitors have to leave the grounds of council owned or leased property to vape.

Yes 

Are staff and visitors required to use designated smoking areas on council owned or leased property in order to vape.

On-site designated smoking areas are not provided.

Does your council’s policy on the use of e-cigarettes differ in any way from your council’s existing policy on smoking? If it does, please explain the differences.

No differences between the two policies.

Please detail your council’s policy, if there is one, for staff smoking cessation and also if you encourage your staff to use e-cigarettes as a means of smoking cessation.  

Devon County Council does not have a Policy on staff smoking cessation. However it does have an Employee Assistance Programme where staff could obtain support.

Please inform me when your policy on the use of e-cigarettes was last reviewed, if it is under review, and/or if it is due to be under review in the near future.

The policy was last reviewed on 1st April 2016. It is planned for review.

The Government’s Tobacco Control Plan explicitly states that “Public Health England has produced guidance for employers and organisations looking to introduce policies around e-cigarettes and vaping in public and recommend such policies to be evidence based. PHE recommends that e-cigarette use is not covered by smoke free legislation and should not be routinely included in the requirements of an organisation’s smoke free policy”. If the council has not reviewed its policy since the publication of this control plan, does it have any plans to do so in the future?

A review of the Devon County Council Corporate Smoking at Work Policy is on the agenda for the next Public Health and Communities Leadership Team meeting. Following the discussion and review of this policy at that meeting, Public Health may recommend amendments to the policy.

Are councillors due to debate/discuss the Government’s Tobacco Control Plan and/or Public Health England’s advice on vaping policies? 

There are no plans for councillors to debate this.